August 1, 2023 - “I Want to be Still” by Rahil Najafabadi

I WANT TO BE STILL

In this dance of recovery, the poison stays with me still.
I want to be a tree like the ones covering the still

sky of an unstirred goodbye, the touch of water still
before the raindrop reaches the river. I want to be still,

like the waves I watch from a distance on a plane. Still––
I am not moving. The night grows my fears to be still

about the shadow I can’t see without the light, yet still,
I know it’s meshing with my shadow whenever I’m still.

Will it ever be the moment mother nature breaks being still
and emerges to be a flower undeserving of the sun––still,

because it doesn’t want to bloom.